(a)The Judge Advocate General’s Corps is a Staff Corps of the Navy, and shall be organized in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of the Navy.

(b)There is in the executive part of the Department of the Navy the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. The Judge Advocate General shall be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a term of four years. He shall be appointed from judge advocates of the Navy or the Marine Corps who are members of the bar of a Federal court or the highest court of a State and who have had at least eight years of experience in legal duties as commissioned officers. The Judge Advocate General, while so serving, has the grade of vice admiral or lieutenant general, as appropriate.

(c)Under regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of the Navy, in selecting an officer for recommendation to the President for appointment as the Judge Advocate General, shall ensure that the officer selected is recommended by a board of officers that, insofar as practicable, is subject to the procedures applicable to selection boards convened under chapter
36 of this title.

(d)The Judge Advocate General of the Navy, under the direction of the Secretary of the Navy, shall—

(1)perform duties relating to legal matters arising in the Department of the Navy as may be assigned to him;

(2)perform the functions and duties and exercise the powers prescribed for the Judge Advocate General in chapter
47 of this title;

(3)receive, revise, and have recorded the proceedings of boards for the examination of officers of the naval service for promotion and retirement; and

(4)perform such other duties as may be assigned to him.

(e)No officer or employee of the Department of Defense may interfere with—

(1)the ability of the Judge Advocate General to give independent legal advice to the Secretary of the Navy or the Chief of Naval Operations; or

(2)the ability of judge advocates of the Navy assigned or attached to, or performing duty with, military units to give independent legal advice to commanders.

In subsection (b) the rank, pay, allowances, and privileges of retirement of chiefs of bureaus of the Navy are incorporated. 5 U.S.C. 441 apparently relates the Judge Advocate General of the Navy to the Judge Advocate General of the Army, as well as to bureau chiefs. However, since the creation of the Department of the Air Force by the National Security Act of 1947, if the incorporation to the Army provision is retained, the saving provisions in the act require an incorporation also to the rank, etc., of the Judge Advocate General of the Air Force. The rank of the Judge Advocate General of each of the other departments is now specified in organizational law to be major general. Since it is possible that these ranks may at some future time not be the same, incorporation by reference to them is no longer appropriate. Instead, the section relates the Judge Advocate General’s rank, pay, allowances, and privileges of retirement to those of bureau chiefs as does 5 U.S.C. 441, in part.

In subsection (c), clauses (1) and (4) are substituted for the words “and perform such other duties as have heretofore been performed by the Solicitor and Naval Judge Advocate General” to describe the duties of the Judge Advocate General directly instead of by reference to the duties performed by an officer whose office was abolished more than 75 years ago.

Subsection (c)(2) is substituted for the reference, in 5 U.S.C. 428, to courts-martial and courts of inquiry, since the Uniform Code of Military Justice has superseded prior law as to the duties of the Judge Advocates General relating to these courts.

Amendments

2008—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 110–181substituted “The Judge Advocate General, while so serving, has the grade of vice admiral or lieutenant general, as appropriate.” for “The Judge Advocate General, while so serving, shall hold a grade not lower than rear admiral or major general, as appropriate.”

Pub. L. 109–163, § 508(b), substituted “The Judge Advocate General, while so serving, shall hold a grade not lower than rear admiral or major general, as appropriate.” for “If an officer appointed as the Judge Advocate General holds a lower regular grade, the officer shall be appointed in the regular grade of rear admiral or major general, as appropriate.”

1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–337, § 504(b)(1)(A), added last sentence and struck out former last sentence which read as follows: “While so serving, the Judge Advocate General of the Navy shall be entitled to the rank and grade of rear admiral or major general, as appropriate, unless entitled to a higher rank and grade under another provision of law.”

Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 103–337, § 504(b)(1)(B), added subsec. (c) and struck out former subsec. (c) which read as follows: “The Judge Advocate General of the Navy is entitled to the same rank and privileges of retirement as provided for chiefs of bureaus in section
5133 of this title.”

1980—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–513inserted provision entitling Judge Advocate General of Navy to rank and grade of rear admiral or major general, as appropriate.

1962—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 87–649struck out “, pay, allowances,” after “same rank”. See Title 37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services.

Effective Date of 1980 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 96–513effective Sept. 15, 1981, but the authority to prescribe regulations under the amendment by Pub. L. 96–513effective on Dec. 12, 1980, see section 701 ofPub. L. 96–513, set out as a note under section
101 of this title.

Effective Date of 1962 Amendment

Amendment by Pub. L. 87–649effective Nov. 1, 1962, see section 15 ofPub. L. 87–649, set out as an Effective Date note preceding section
101 of Title
37, Pay and Allowances of the Uniformed Services.

“(a) In this section ‘law specialist’ means a line officer on the active or retired list of the Regular Navy or of the Naval Reserve designated for special duty (law) or a line officer of the Naval Reserve [now Navy Reserve] assigned a numerical designator indicating a special duty officer (law).

“(b) All law specialists in the Navy are redesignated as judge advocates in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the Navy. Each law specialist of the Navy who is on a promotion list on the day before the effective date of this Act [Dec. 8, 1967] shall be placed on the appropriate promotion list for the Judge Advocate General’s Corps and shall be eligible for promotion when the officer who is to be his running mate in the next higher grade becomes eligible for promotion in that grade.”

Savings Provision

Pub. L. 90–179, § 10,Dec. 8, 1967, 81 Stat. 549, provided that: “This Act [enacting sections
5578a and
5587a of this title, amending this section, sections
801,
806,
815,
827,
865,
936,
5149,
5404,
5508,
5581,
5587,
5600,
5652a,
5702,
5708,
5753,
5762,
5896,
5897 and
6378 of this title, and section
202 of Title
37, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and section
5149 of this title] does not affect rights accrued, duties matured, or proceedings commenced before its effective date. Redesignation of an officer under section 8(b) of this Act [set out as a note under this section] shall not operate to change the computation of his service for any purpose.”